Belmont Stakes 2013: Will it be Orb, Oxbow, or another horse?
O, for a horse race Saturday when the 145th Belmont Stakes takes off from the starting gate near the Big Apple.
, winner of this year's Kentucky Derby, meets , the Preakness winner, and 12 other horses in the mile and a half race at Belmont Park, just outside New York City.
Orb will start from post position No. 5. Trainer , whose thoroughbred racing office is located at Belmont, feels like his horse will be in a good position to handle whatever might come his way.
鈥淚 think, on paper, there is going to be a bit of a pace, so he鈥檒l be able to kind of drop out of it and dictate what he wants to do. If there isn鈥檛, and they鈥檙e going in :49 and some change, then he can be laying up there. I just hope he has some place to go when the time comes," McGaughey told Wednesday.
As Tropical Storm Andrea moves over and exits the northeastern US Saturday, there's a good chance the New York track will be wet, a possibility all trainers will factor into their pre-race preparations. Orb won the Derby five weeks ago on a sloppy Churchill Downs track.
"It doesn't really matter whether it's sloppy or fast, you just don't want it to be sticky or heavy," trainer , referring to the track condition. He added that his horses "all have enough pedigree on wet tracks so it won't compromise them too much."
Just two spots to Orb's right will be the Preakness champion in the No. 7 post position. Oxbow is trained by multiple Belmont-winner , who's more concerned about the competition than the media's interest in starting spots.
" ... at a mile and a half with that long run and the sweeping turns, we have a tendency to overanalyze the post position draw. I鈥檓 more concerned about who is around me and what they鈥檙e going to do than what gate we got," the said Wednesday.
Another horse to keep an eye on will be , who has some familiarity with this track. The three-year-old , run at a rainy Belmont Park one week after the Kentucky Derby.
Former Belmont-winning trainer Pletcher leads the field with five horses entered, including , who finished third in the Kentucky Derby. Other Pletcher Derby horses entered in the Belmont are and .
Pletcher will also saddle the only filly, or three-year-old female horse, entered in the race. will start one spot from the outside in post position No. 13. rounds out Pletcher's starting five.
鈥淲e were kind of hoping Unlimited Budget would draw toward the outside. I think Palace Malice, maybe, will show some speed, so we鈥檙e happy to be outside of Freedom Child and Oxbow," after the post position draw on Wednesday. 鈥淚 think [the 1 陆-mile distance] will suit [Revolutionary] well. He鈥檚 a horse who turns off really easily. I think he鈥檒l settle in the first part of the race. That鈥檚 important if you鈥檙e going to get the mile and a half.鈥�
Post time for the Belmont is scheduled for 6:36 p.m. Eastern time. NBC will televise the third leg of the Triple Crown series of races.
